Thursday, 30 August 2007

Behind this long title lies another game that I bought for my light-gun, one that I've actually been interested for some time. I know everyone, from fans to critics, says the Gun Survivor games are shit, but I always wanted to try them myself, since in theory they sound awesome. Imagine the trigger happy feeling of a light-gun shooter with the freedom to move everywhere of an FPS and the horror theme of Resident Evil games! Sounds good? Hell yes! So, what went wrong with this one? Well, let's find out...

Unlike the first game, originally made for the PlayStation, GS2 first debuted in the arcades. This explains alot, like the lack of a real story (forget about any new additions to the code Veronica narrative), the dated graphics and the game modes.

Talking about game modes, the first one I've tried is Arcade Mode, which I assume is a direct port of the original arcade game. Here you just have to go from point A to point B, where you always fight a boss, and usually you need to pick up one or two keys in order to open the point B door. In order to prevent gamers from being on the arcade machine for too long, Capcom introduced the "Nemesis timer", a timer that counts down and, when when it reaches zero, Nemesis is unleashed, which is stupid since Nemesis originally appeared on RE3 and has nothing to do with the Code Veronica storyline. Anyway, when this happens Nemesis will start pursuing you and one hit of this huge beast kills you instantly, so run like hell.

This is stupid, since this is a console game and you should be able to spend as much time as you want, exploring rooms and killing enemies, but hey, guess Capcom didn't realise this...

Now, before I continue with the game modes, maybe its time to talk about the gameplay. As I said before, you can use your light-gun to shoot the enemies (imagine you're playing House of the Dead), but there's no rails, so you have to move on your own. This is done with the d-pad on the back of the gun, but I soon realised that this sucks! The d-pad is slow, not responsive and a huge pain in the ass!

So, despite buying the game with the intent to play it using my beloved G-Con 2, I soon realised this game plays much better with the dualshock. The movement is so much better that you actually feel more powerful, being able to quickly turn around to shoot the zombie behind you in the face, unlike with the gun, where it takes ages to turn or even move, and even the shooting part is easier (!). There's autoaiming, so you just have to shoot; you can see the weapon you're carrying, unlike with the G-Con where you can't see your character's hands; and you can even tell if that zombie in the ground is really dead or just faking, by the way your character points automatically at him.

So, again about game modes, there's this Dungeon Mode which I think is the main mode for solo players. Here you have to complete missions in totally new areas created for this mode, with objectives like just reaching the end and fighting the boss or finding hidden objects throughout the level. This last one is really fucked up, since, unlike in Arcade mode, here you don't have a map. Well, how the fuck can you search for hidden shit in maze-like levels with multiple floors and rooms, then?

There's also a Ranking Mode, but this is just where you can see the highscores of the levels you completed and not really a playing mode per se.

And finally, the most...original...mode, VS. Roach mode. Unlocked when you complete your first Dungeon mode mission, I first thought this was either some kind of boss mode or a competition against some guy named Roach. How wrong I was...

The thing is, "Roach" is supposed to be taken literally. Yes, you're locked inside a room filled with cock-a-roaches and you have to take em all out within the given time limit. This is not only hard, due to the small amount of time and the hard to hit cockroaches, but also boring. Fuck, I want to shoot zombies in the face with a shotgun, not smash bugs! That I can do in the real life and it can be even more entertaining than in the game.

Now, about the graphics, the game was heavily criticised about it's aspect, but to be honest this really didn't bother me. The whole game has an undeniable arcade feel to it, with empty environments, without to many stuff to distract us, and huge items you can pick up. All the character and enemy models seem to be taken directly from RE: CV, which is not that bad and, and overall, I think anyone who misses the many arcade ports that came out for the dreamcast a long time ago will like the style of the graphics in this one. Oh, and by the way, the "door interludes" whenever you move from one room to the other are still present...

As far as the sound goes, both the sound effects and the soundtrack are the same present in many other RE games, so this should please every fan of the series.

So, overall, is this a game worth buying?Hmm...if you're a die-hard fan of Resident Evil, particularly Code: Veronica, you may find this game somewhat entertaining, but if you're just looking for a decent light-gun game or a good game overall, despite its genre, this game is not for you.

NebachadnezzaR gives Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 Code: Veronica 2 stars out of 5, which means "buy it if you have lots of money to spend".

Saturday, 25 August 2007

First of all, sorry for not posting much in the last weeks, but I've been really busy and it's all going to get worse from now on, so don't expect much from me.

Anyway, let's get to the point! I have a question for you all. What happens when you put this:

and this:

together?

Lots of fun, that's what!

After many year's playing light-gun shooters with a regular controller, which sucks hard, I've finally acquired this beauty called G-Con 2, and to make up for the fact that my first light-gun ever wasn't for a SEGA console, the first game I played with it was Virtua Cop: Elite Edition!

Unfortunately I can't really make a comparative between this and the original Saturn games, like Father K wanted to do, for I've never played them before. Ok, I played the VC2 port that came on Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast, but that wasn't the Saturn version, so...

Anyway, for all of you that don't know exactly what is this VC:EE, this is basically just a compilation of both Virtua Cop 1 and 2, with a couple of extras.

Wait, what's that, you don't know what Virtua Cop is? Fear not, for NebachadnezzaR is here! Journey with me through the annals of history (what? ANALS?) to the distant year of 1994, when a game called Virtua Cop took light-gun shooters to the next level!

Like Virtua Fighter or Virtua Racing, VC was the first of it's genre to feature fully 3D graphics, and with that came a lot of other features, like the localized shots or the improved interaction with the environments.

So, what can we expect from the PS2 versions of both this great game and it's even greater sequel? Well, the graphics for instance are obviously better. The resolution is way higher, the textures are more detailed and overall both games just look better (I suppose, since, as I said earlier, I never played the Saturn versions). VC2 looks even better than the DC version, especially when the cars explode (the fire and smoke just looks awesome).

But never forget that in their core, they're still Saturn games, so don't expect anything near as good as other PS2 shooters.

Moving on to the extras, there's not much here. There's the training mode, where you can train your skills by shooting at cardboard targets alone or against the console, and there's the gallery, where you can gaze at various artwork that you have to unlock first, by shooting those coward bastards that runaway instead of facing you like a man or the various objects in the scenery.

When I beat VC1 I also unlocked a "random mode", which I can activate in the options menu, but I have absolutely no idea what that is, since my game came with no manual. Do you anything about this, Father?

By the way, since I already talked about the options menu, there's something here for everyone. If you plain suck at this kind of games you can select infinite continues, and if you're a gun maniac like me you can activate the "select weapon" option. Now you just have to pause the game and shoot off-screen to select your weapon from a wide variety of fine armament!

So, overall, is this a good purchase? Well, yes and no. If you've never played any of these games before and prefer to have just one disc with nicer versions of both games, instead of having to track down the 2 Saturn versions, this is indeed a pretty cool compilation. On the other hand, if you already have this games for the Saturn, there's really not much of a point in having this game, since there's almost nothing new here.

Anyway, this is a good way to pass time while we wait for the Wii version of Ghost Squad, a shooter very similar to VC judging from what I've heard about it. And if that game turns out to be a success, who knows, maybe SEGA will convert Virtua Cop 3 too. It should be an easy task, since both games run in the same arcade hardware.

Now, in an unrelated matter, I'm trying to build a decent light-gun collection for my PS2 and right now I'm after Vampire Night, among others. Since that game was produced by SEGA maybe I'll post something about it in the near future.

And in an even more unrelated matter, I can't finish this post without telling you about my latest PS2 acquisition: Gungrave! It's a fucking awesome action game, the brainless kind of action games, and it's really short, which is great! So, here's my advice: if you're like me and you're looking for short, brainless, immediate fun for the PS2, this is the game to get. NOW!

OK! I've played 'em all a little, but I'm not gonna review any of them yet! I'm far too "emotional" (pissed) to present any kind of sensible review right now... So I'll just tell you what I've sneakily brought into the Krishna household this week... I'll review them properly one by one when I'm more sober...

Here goes... Number 1. "Tunnel B1"... This is a nice little FPS, except you're floating round in some kind of hovercraft... You've experienced a lovely little opening video with loads of lovely little opening sequence build ups, then all of a sudden you're underground, trying to shoot your way out of a labarynth of alien danger... Not bad!

Number 2. "Nascar '98"... A Sub-standard Daytona, given to us by dubious Sega sell-outs EA... Its OK but comparisons to the official title are always gonna hamper the loveliness of this particular game... again, its 'not bad' but is that gonna sell it to you? I think not...

Number 3. "Primal Rage". Think 'Mortal Kombat' but with 'Dinosaurs' and 'Ape -Men' beautifully rendered and with fab graphics for the late nineties...

Number 4. "Soviet Strike" The Cold War is still on in the land of the Saturn, this is an Amiga inspired war-sim with you in control of a US chopper... Plus fabulous Saturn video clips with superb acting... A winner!

Number 6. "Scorcher"... I thought this was gonna be High Octane on a bike... But it proved to be a lot more... Like a marble run on acid... pretty cool... So no images, no reviews, no links... Just a list of what games I scored! The more I tease you with this haul, the more interest I (might) gain...

Happy days! And all for under a tenner, on my secret credit card... More later...

Thursday, 23 August 2007

Well! Lawks-a-lordy!I've just scored a lovelyNokia N73on my recent contract upgrade and I'm very happy to tell you, it's been Saturn-ized!YEP! The wallpaper sports a lovely pic of our leader and guru, (Hallowed be his name) Segata Sanshiro! And my new ringtone, is the very excellent Segata Sanshiro (Junkyard Remix) by J! If you want to listen to it's magnificence look here...

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

The interest in Retro Gaming continues to rise thanks to the X Box Live downloadable content.However, a rather clever and inventive young type, became a little frustrated with the 360 game pad when playing Street Fighter II. The solution? Return to a pad which was designed for 2D fighting games! Yes its the trusty old Saturn pad! So enjoy the video above, which came courtesy of the rather marvellous Gametab.com.

Wednesday, 15 August 2007

1. - It doesn't work on a whole bunch of games. However it's perfect for the flight sims and especially sweet for helicopter attack games like Black fire. Since I have no copy of Panzer Dragoon I can't say how good it is for that game. ThunderStrike 2 works pretty well.

2. - It's HUGE. With a crapload of buttons. I got no clue if any games actually take advantage of all those buttons. What a cool setup for the tip! A slid thumb controller... Pretty damn nifty for using two different types of weapons or switching between weapons. The stick itself is nice and responsive.

3. - It's pretty damn expensive for one that hasn't been beat up. I paid $20 USD and for the casual gamer who isn't gonna collect all the games that this controller works with then I think that's in the correct ballpark.

Saturday, 4 August 2007

Well folks I'm off to my Lighthouse (caravan) in North Wales for two weeks, for lots of relaxation, drinking, eating and of course playing video games! i'm taking my PS2 and DS, so there should be some reviews of that over at Father Krishna's Wii-kly Sermons when I get back!I'm going to historic Criccieth, (see below), and I am hoping to get out onto the beach for some beautiful coastal walks, spend some quality time with Mrs. K and the Three Gingers! Life is sweet!So I'll leave you all in the very capable hands of Caleb and NebachadnezzaR, and I'll see you all in a couple of weeks!

Sunday, July 29, 2007

The rather fabulous post below, was posted by J over at the excellent "Corner Of Randomness". They're his words not mine, and thus printed in the customary quotation colour.

"I'd always wanted a Saturn. But my Dad went and bought me a PlayStation instead. My Father would pay for his mistake due to being scarred by the image of his son's smile disappearing from his face on Christmas day as he tore away the wrapping paper and saw a PlayStation. So I used to live out my want for a Saturn through one of my close friends. He always used to buy the official Saturn magazine and one of the issues had a blow out on a brand new Sonic team game. That game was Burning Rangers. I remember the cover like it was yesterday. Kick arse anime artwork of the main man Shou and his fingers pointing right at the reader. My friend and I would glance at the pages and bicker about how badly we wanted to play the game. I'd constantly badger on to my friend like "You know you gotta buy this!! Day of release! You need this in your life!" When the game finally released he came round to my house that day with his Saturn in tow and we played the game right through into the evening. He wasn't as good at it as I was and the last boss kept killing him, so I ended up completing it. 1999 and I have a Dreamcast. I think of all the cool Saturn games that will undoutedbly get sequels. I was loving the Dreamcast and games were releasing pretty fast. Sega were porting their arcade games left, right and centre. Releasing all the games except the one I really wanted. Burning Rangers 2.

As cool as the original game was, I felt that there was more that Sonic team could've done with it. The characters and the gameplay were so cool that upon completing the game you really did want more. With a Dreamcast sequel now out of the question I know live in the vain hope that Sonic team will develop a Burning Rangers sequel for the Wii. Ever since pulling out of the console race, Sega have been good to Nintendo. Despite being rivals for so long, they actually make a good team. Sega have definitely found home on the DS and Wii, so the Wii would be the best platform for them to do a Burning Rangers sequel. Not only that, but the controls too. They'd be perfect! Using the Wii remote to extinguish fires and yanking back on the Wii remote to perform the safety dodges. Having your team mates' advice and info come through the Wii remote speaker. It'd rock. An online playable co-op mode wouldn't go amiss neither. Sega could even use the WiiConnect 24 service and provide downloadable content. Late at night your Wii light glows. You pick up your Wii remote, power it up and you see you've got a Wii mail. "Burning Rangers report! We have a new mission. Rendezvous at the Wii shop where you'll find a file briefing you on the situation". You head over to the Wii shop download the file and BAM! You've got a brand new stage to play through.

In the original game you'd come across people who would need rescuing. When you'd complete a stage they'd sometimes send you letters thanking you, which was a really cool feature. How cool would it be if in the Wii sequel your Wii light would glow and you find that you've got a Wii mail from a hostage you rescued!?

As a cool bonus Sega could even implement a feature where by you can connect your DS to your Wii wirelessly and download the original Sega Saturn classic for play on the DS, with new dual screen functionality! Hidden unlockables for the Wii version of the game could be tucked away in the DS version. When players have unlocked these features, they can transfer them over to the Wii and use them. Things such as additional costumes, new weapons, an concept art gallery, sound test mode etc. All of which can only be unlocked by playing the DS version of the game.

There is so much Sonic team could do with Burning Rangers for the Wii and the DS. I hate it when developers release a brilliant game that you know could flourish and do such big things on a current gen system, but it's just forgotten about. I doubt this post will reach a wide audience or that Sega will see it. But for 8 years I've lived in the hope Sonic team would develop a sequel and I'm still hopeful - so what have I got to lose!? I may as well make my plea. Please, please, PLEEEAAASE Sonic team - make a Burning Rangers sequel for Wii!!! I've even got a title for it! The Burning Rangers."

My e-mail address is in the top right corner of this blog Sega, so you know how and where to hit me up! :D

Here is a quick look at two of the PC ports that made an appearance on the Saturn that I recently bought. I will go through a quick summary of each game including some Pros and Cons.

Hexen - Sega Saturn Version.

Pros:

Doom Clone

Cons:

Doom clone

No really, this is one of the games I played on the PC back in the day and I gotta say that I have a bit of a soft spot for this game.

This game looks badly pixelated and crappy. There is no way around that. If you expecting something that looks better than Doom, don't. There are a wide variety of monsters and hallways though...but they all look very dated.

It's a first person shooter. In terms of gameplay it's in between Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. You can jump and fly but you can't duck. You also get an inventory for items.

It's got a few RPG elements to it. You can choose one of three characters to play and you get different weapons and strengths from each.

The control scheme for weapon and item switching just plain sucks. It sucks. You have to hold in the "z" key then use the direction pad to scroll through the weapons... When I played the PC game I would use the basic melee weapon to save ammo. Then when a badass flying imp on fire would pop out I could quickly press a number key to select a better weapon to blast it to bits. In the Saturn version you would have to sit there like a moron flipping through your weapon collection until you got the right one (all the while getting ripped to shreds). I guess you have to turn tail and run until you get a free second to switch weapons.

Also you can't save normally unless you have a memory cart. That's OK for a Saturn nut like me but it's a bit disappointing for people who are not planning to buy extra memory. There is a password system that allows you to skip around the levels.

All in all I think it's a fun game. Controls and general look of the game is WAY better on PC.

What I paid: $5 for game with case and manual.

What it's worth: Honestly about $4, $6 Mint, $8 Unopened. (USD)

Warcraft II: The Dark Saga

Pros:

Contains the original Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and its expansion pack, The Dark Portal.

Looks just as good as the PS version making this just about the best value console version of the game.

OK music.

Cons:

No multiplayer.

No extra levels or features. (except for minor stuff like auto build)

Not as fun without the mouse. Controls in general are worse.

The graphics look ALOT worse on the Saturn compared to PC versions.

The pros and cons pretty much sum it up for this game. If for some reason you can't find a decent version of the Warcraft 2 for the PC or can't run the original game then this game might be ok for you.

Basic strategy at it's best. (You know before Warcraft turned into a system to get losers to pay monthly fees it was an ACTUAL GAME! *shock*) Think of this game like a giant chess board where you can influence the number and strengths of the pieces.

What I paid - $3 for the disk

What it's worth? - There are some insanely high ebay prices for this game. Thats gonna throw things off. However I will still say $5, $8 Mint, $10 unopened. (USD) There is no point in letting ebay hype decide your prices.

For example I just got all three Final Fantasy 7 disks in working condition for $1. Some dude that works at Gamestop had some guy give him a whole bag of video games including FF7 for free. For a laugh check out what the morons on ebay are paying for this game....Don't let ebay decide what you will pay for a video game.

We all love a bargain... I remember when I first started collecting for the Saturn as a "Retro Gamer" (as opposed to a curre...

Celebrating 11 years of existence...and 7 years of excellence

Welcome to The Saturn Junkyard, a shrine to Sega's sadly departed console, for all lovers of retro gaming. A place where you can come and relive the glory days of the nineties and find out about the Saturn as a console: We'll take a sideways look at it's games, it's peripherals, it's history, it's marketing, plus shine the occasional spotlight on console modding and the homebrew scene. We make no claims to being authoritative, and everything we discuss will come with a heavy dose of personal opinion and subjectivity. But hopefully we'll raise a smile or two along the way!